U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company Donates $65,000 In Scholarships
To WKU Agriculture Department

May 03, 2007

Bowling Green, Ky. - U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (USSTC) has announced a donation of $65,000 in scholarships to the Western Kentucky University Department of Agriculture for the 2007-08 school year.  
The donated funds will help cover the cost of college for the adult sons and daughters of Kentucky and
Tennessee dark-tobacco producers.

The donation marks the 10th consecutive academic year that USSTC has contributed scholarship funds to the WKU Department of Agriculture. In all, the company has donated 285 WKU scholarships to 127 farm families for a total of $659,000 over the years. 

“At USSTC, we are extremely proud that we have been able to help make the college dream a reality for hundreds of Kentucky and Tennessee men and women over the past 10 years,” said Danny Kingins, USSTC Hopkinsville plant manager. “We remain deeply committed to both the agricultural community and universities of this region and will continue to do all we can to lend a hand to the area’s dark-tobacco producing farm families.”
Kingins presented a check to WKU representatives during a luncheon Wednesday at WKU’s L.D. Brown Agricultural Exposition Center. Department head Jack Rudolph, faculty member Gordon Jones and WKU Provost Barbara Burch thanked USSTC for its support of the scholarship program and for providing educational opportunities for farm families.

Several current WKU students who have benefited from the USSTC scholarships attended the luncheon and also thanked Kingins and the company for their support.

Photo caption: Dawn Saturley and Danny Kingins of U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company present a scholarship donation to Dr. Gordon Jones, faculty member in WKU’s Department of Agriculture. (WKU photo by Mollie Hanrahan)















Photo caption: Seven WKU students who are recipients of U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company scholarships attended a luncheon May 2 to thank the company for its support of education. From left are Jeremy B. Cook of Portland, Tenn.; Ashley L. Pearson of Springfield, Tenn.; James E. Slaton of Madisonville, Ky.; Jarrod T. Farley of Henderson, Ky.; Jeffrey J. Campbell of Adairville, Ky.; Ryan J. Neely of Owensboro, Ky.; Bradley W. McKinney of Lewisburg, Ky.; Dawn Saturley and Danny Kingins of USSTC. (WKU photo by Mollie Hanrahan)

About the company: U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company is a distinctly different tobacco company. Through its
subsidiaries, it is a leading producer and marketer of moist smokeless tobacco products. The company’s primary brands are Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal and Husky. The company is the only smokeless tobacco manufacturer to sign the Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (STMSA). Under the STMSA, the company voluntarily adopted an array of advertising and promotional restrictions and agreed to pay $100 million toward programs to reduce youth access to tobacco products and combat youth substance abuse.
               
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For information, contact Agriculture Department at (270) 745-3151.